Day six saw the completion of the first round as both a former champion and the world number 2 eased through.
Former World Champion John Higgins playing what I thought would be a tricky tie against Michael Holt was thouroughly in control throughout and went into round two with a 10-5 victory. His opponent in round two will be Jamie Cope.
World Number 2, Maguire went through by the same 10-5 scoreline against fellow Scot, Jamie Burnett. This was their first professional encounter since December. The December match shrouded in the controversy of irregular betting patterns, something that is still under investigation.
Maguire will now play Mark King in round 2.
The first matches to start in round 2 were the matches between Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Allen, this one ended 4-4 after the first session, and Ronnie looked out-of-sorts with Allen playing some good snooker early on.
In the other second match, Stephen Hendry came up against a re-energised potting machine in Ding Junhui. The score was 3-1 in Ding’s favour at the interval only for Hendry to come back fresh after the break to level the match at 4-4.
Both of these ties are poised nicely for the second session. Don’t forget in round two it is now best of 25 frames.
